Robot Pepper rocks out with Asian Kung-Fu Generation

Two members of the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation (Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, Naruto) recorded a practice session recently with an unusual musical guest: Pepper, a robot who can detect and interpret human emotions. It can also provide beats, and did so for Gotch (who plays guitar and prefers a rock tempo) and Tamaki Roy (who raps and prefers a hip-hop beat).

The session uses an application called Pepperhythm, one of about 200 apps that make Pepper extremely versatile; it can do everything from attending to the sick and elderly to serving coffee. (It can be used for sexual harassment as well, although this is unofficial.) It has been very popular; since June, a thousand robots have been available for sale each month, and each time they have sold out.